CBN grants Mortgage Refinancing Companies approval to refinance Non-member banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has granted approval to Mortgage Refinancing Companies (MRC), to re-finance non-member banks.

This is contained in a circular referenced FPR/DIR/GEN/CIR/07/056 and signed by Ibrahim Tukur, the Director of Financial Policy and Regulation Department, CBN.

The circular improved on the earlier provisions contained in section 7.3.1.5 which states that “A mortgage refinance company (MRC) shall not, without the prior approval of the CBN, extend total outstanding credit to any single borrower, which is equal to or more than twenty times the value of the borrower’s shares with the MRC or 25 percent of its shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses.”

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What this means

Based on the provisions contained in the latest circular, MRCs are now free and legally permitted to refinance the qualifying mortgages of banks and all other non-members ( that do not hold equity), subject to meeting all other relevant requirements specified in the framework.

In a nutshell, the restriction on non-member mortgage lenders from refinancing their mortgages with MRCs has been removed.

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Why this matters

Prior to the provisions contained in the latest circular, CBN had expressed fears that provisions of section 7.3.1.5 negatively impacts the mortgages sub-sector, as it constrains the MRCS from refinancing the mortgages of non-shareholder banks. Therefore, the new order will help to remove the restrictions already highlighted.

In lieu of this, the latest circular stated that the provision of section 7.3.1 5 is hereby revised to “the MRC shall not, without prior approval of the CBN, extend total outstanding credit to any single borrower, which is equal to or more than 25 percent of its shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses,” the circular reads.